Abraham Cohen of Zante
Abraham Cohen (Abraham ben Shabbetai ha-Kohen) (1670 – 1729) was a Jewish physician, rabbi, religious philosopher and poet on Zante (Zakynthos), an Ionian Island, and an overseas colony of the Venetian Republic.
Abraham Cohen of Zante | |
|---|---|
 Abraham Cohen at age 49 in 1719 | |
| Born | 1670 |
| Died | 1729 (aged 58–59) |
| Occupation | Physician, rabbi, philosopher, and poet |
Cohen's family was moderately wealthy and lived on Crete where he was born,[1] although he lived most of his adult life in the town of Zante where he practiced medicine.[2] He was a scholar and graduated as a physician from the University of Padua.[3]
Work
In 1700 Cohen published in Venice his Derashot 'al ha-Torah,[3] a common title for homilies (sermons) and commentary on the Pentateuch (Torah). His Derashot 'al ha-Torah is also known as Kebod Chacamim or Kevod Ḥakhamim (The Glory of Wise Men).[4] In 1719 he published in Venice his Kehunnat Abraham (כהנת אברהם), a book of religious poems in Hebrew written in the manner of and inspired by the Psalms (Tehillim). Cohen used a number of different meters in his poetry.[3] His Kehunnat Abraham created a stir within the Jewish community of the Venetian Republic and other parts of Italy, full of compliments. Joseph Fiametta published a poem in praise of it,[5] as did Issac Vita Cantarini and Shabbethai Marini, both in the mode of the times, sonnet form.[6] Cohen's engraved self-portrait appears on the fly-leaf of his Kehunnat Abraham complete with wig.[7]
In 1879 M. Ventura of Corfu found a Hebrew poem by Cohen inscribed on the wall of the synagogue in Candia, Crete, and later published his discovery.[3]
References
- The Jewish Encyclopedia indictes his birth on Zante. However, the Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition, indicates his birth in Crete. Roth, Cecil (2007). "Abraham ben Shabbetai Ha-Kohen". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. 1 (second ed.). Detroit, Michigan: Macmillan Reference USA. p. 310.
- Rubens, Alfred (1954). "No. 2006". Jewish Iconography. London: The Jewish Museum. OCLC 5218777.
- Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Jewish Encyclopedia Zante". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- C.P.H. (1842). "Abraham Cohen or Hacohen". In Long, George (ed.). The Biographical Dictionary of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 1. London: Longman. p. 143.
- Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Jewish Encyclopedia Fiametta, Joseph ben Soloman". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Rhine, A. B. (1911). "Secular Hebrew Poetry of Italy". The Jewish Quarterly Review: New Series. 2 (1): 24–53, page 28.
- Ruderman, David B. (2001). "Padua and the Formation of a Jewish Medical Community in Italy". Jewish Thought and Scientific Discovery in Early Modern Europe. Wayne State University Press. p. 117. ISBN 0-8143-2931-4. First edition was 1995 by Yale University Press.
Further reading
- Benayahu, Meir (1978). "Rabbi Abraham ha-Cohen of Zante and the Group of Doctor-Poets in Padua". Ha-Sifrut (in Hebrew). 26: 108–140.